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cdr|m's
.:: a klangwerk release ..................................................::.
artist :: novi singers
release :: vocal jazz from poland 1965-75
year :: 1999
genre :: jazz
label :: jazzanova compost records
catalogue :: jcr 006 (lp)
website :: www.compost-records.com
date :: 24-dec-2002
quality :: 192kbps/44,1khz
source :: vinyl
.::.......................................................................::.
01 torpedo 2:39
02 all together 3:04
03 christine 2:43
04 misfit 3:27
05 my own revolution 4:22
06 next, please 2:36
07 five, four, three 3:57
08 it doesn't matter 2:40
09 the runway 3:34
10 oh, woman 4:01
11 jeansy 3:47
playtime :: 00h 36m 50s
.::.......................................................................::.
a merry christmas from klangwerk with the nova singers:
"there is this epidemic of labeling, everybody labels everybody -
seems some people can't sleep at night without having everything
neatly classified. i don't give a damn if somebody says i sing
church music, and somebody says it's military marches and somebody
says it's nursery rhymes, and somebody else wonders if it's jazz.
(...) i don't care what it's going to get called, i just want it
to be good." (bernard kawka of the novi singers in: jazz forum
1/1971)
we first stumbled across the polish vocal ensemble novi singers
(new original vocal instruments) several years ago by chance and
have been hooked ever since. their second album "novis in
wonderland" (1968) might be known to many, for it was released on
the german saba-mps label. the vast artistic output of the group
for the state-owned polish record label polskie nagrania remained
a well-kept secret for the western-european countries and the rest
of the world. the emergence of the cd in poland had a detrimental
effect upon the polish jazz scene by confining many of these
excellent jazz-recordings to the vaults.
with their absolute technical perfection and their musical
approach, the vocal jazz ensemble novi singers were at the time
often compared to lambert-ross-hendricks or les double six. the
story of the novi singers begins in 1964 when bernard kawka, a
student at the warsaw music conservatory, decides to found his own
jazz group with other students, choosing the voice as an ideal
instrument. the original members of the group are ewa wanat
(violin), janusz mych (flute), waldemar parzynski (percussion),
aleksander gluch and bernard kawka (violin), all of whom both sang
and played their respective instruments.
"above all we found the human voice to be a perfect jazz
instrument" recalls ewa "and that the possibilities in sound,
expression and interpretation were unlimited. we knew that there
was still much to be done in the field we had chosen and so we
decided to become real improvisers: to create music while singing.
we resigned from lyrics, and began to scat. texts are
self-determining and make improvisation difficult, while we want
our music to be spontaneous, fresh and full of improvising
expression and rhythmic dynamism that belongs to afro-rooted
music". (jazz forum 1/1971)
on this compilation you will find a remarkable selection of tracks
from several different albums that span the creative output of the
novi singers from the 60's to the 70's (1965-1975). you will hear
how their vocal artistry has been influenced by many different
musical movements from modern jazz to bossa nova.
we start our little musical journey with two tracks torpedo (b.
kawka) and all together (b. kawka), both taken from one of the
most innovative albums of the group, torpedo (1969). the name
torpedo shouldn't frighten you off. as they put it themselves:
"torpedo - the mysterious device specially designed to obliterate
musical orthodoxy, heartless craftmanship, the smug
self-confidence of those who clutch well-worn ideas and tread
well-worn trails". that's a clear statement.
next up is christine (b. kawka) from the first novi singers
release on a single, dating from 1965. at the time where they
called themselves novi kwintett vocalny, as they were a quintet at
the time. aleksander gluch left the orginal group in 1966.
yet another track, misfit comes from the "torpedo" album with its
inspiring deep flute solos by janusz mych and mystic horns.
our favourite track on this record my own revolution (b. kawka,
1970) with its strong psychedelic beat-touch was typical for
poland at that time. beat music had a very big following in
poland, simular to that of former eastern germany. this song could
have been a great pop-hit in the western world due to its enticing
hook-line and beatles flair.
the follow-up track next, please (b. kawka) from the "bossa nova"
(1967) album shows that the jazz scene in poland was also infected
by the bossa nova craze of the time. by the way, it was in 1960
that stan getz, who was heavily engaged in the bossa nova
movement, visited poland for the first time and gained widespread
recognition, leaving his own musical influence in poland by giving
several outstanding concerts. he was actually the first american
jazz musician to record with polish jazz musicians.
the very gifted songwriter and arranger bernard kawka left the
novi singers, the group he had founded in 1972 and took his over
ten years of vocal experience to the mother country of jazz, the
usa. in fact, the vocal arrangements and performances of many
michal urbaniaks releases on arista, such as "funk factory" (1975)
are those of kawka and his new group, the bk-singers - a sample
favourite with the beastie boys.
after kawka left the group, the remaining three members of the
novi singers were joined by the pianist and arranger tomasz
ochalski, who had already contributed several arrangements to
previous albums. ochalski stayed in the group until 1977. the
album "five, four, three" (1974) was cut in the trio formation
without kawka. the album name documents the development of the
orginal group "five, four, three" from a quintet to a trio. the
novi singers sound changed slightly after kawka left. rock and
electronic sounds entered the spectrum, as you will hear on the
track five, four, three with its electronically manipulated scats.
the follow-up song it doesn't matter (b. bacharach, 1975) is the
only non-original composition presented here. recorded with the
aleksander mazur quartet, the novi singers do their vocal thing.
after introducing the main theme this one opens up to a firing
percussion carpet enhanced through flute and trumpet riffs.
the novi singers land on the runway (w. parzynski) with electric
guitars and lift off again - without taking the troubles to sing
lyrics.
one of the examples of compositions with a strong song character:
oh, woman (w. parzynski/ a. wiecko) combines funk made in poland
with somewhat awkward english lyrics - very charming. it's a shame
that the hit-potential of this song wasn't recognized at the time.
the final composition on this compilation jeansy (b. kawka, 1965)
comes from the same debut single as christine and already proves
the great potential of the group. again we recognize the initial
unorthodox jazz approach of the novi singers with a complex
rhythmic structuring and harmonic voice-layering.
beside the material presented here, it might be of interest to
know that the novi singers also produced two albums with vocal
interpretations of chopin compositions novi singers sing chopin
(1971) and chopin up to date (1977). they were naturally big with
the polish due to chopins national popularity. before the group
broke up, a late album novi singers pay tribute (1980) was
produced for the polish radio with a very nice interpretation of
jobims one-note samba.
we are very happy to be able to present this exclusive material.
the brilliant arrangements, surprising tempochanges and deep
flutes make the novi singers a true musical treat. after an
introduction by the groups founder b. kawka also a last statement:
"there are special moments in life, that's when the song
begins..." (warsaw, 1999).
liner notes bv daniel w. best, feb. 1999
.::.......................................................................::.
greetings :: sb, dps, cmc, sour, it, rac, dh, sfe, hbz, igr and mgc
.::.......................................................................::.
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[BMW]-[Jazz-1999]-(50.6 MB in 11 files of 192kbps Stereo)-[bender@reco